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Terrible State of Things in the Soudan.

The " Napier ; Telegraph "ha« the following :—Becent cablegrams mentioned that a famine was raging m the Soudan, and that cases of cannibalism had occurred, but we were not informed- how the famine was caused. We learn from late English papers that the people are starving not because the crops have failed, not because of an extraordinary season, but because the bread winners have been killed, and the women and children have been left to die. Mr H. H. Howorth has sent to the "Times." the following extracts from a letter from a friend at Suakin :—" You have no idea of the awful state of misery the country i& m. The population is actually starving* and the people are like living skeletonsOnly the very wealthy formerly have still something left. Of' course the greatest misery is among the widows and children of the men we have killed, and we must have disposed of at least twenty thousand, and those had considerably over oni& hundred thousand dependent on ,the;m, so you can guess the local niiuery. Et does seem hard, after killing the breadwiuners, to leave the innocent women' and children to utker desti-' tufcion and a painful deakh. I have two children here sent me from Tokar. Their mothers, sisters, brothers, and all friends died of starvation. lam going to get them weighed when I <jet *- o Suakin. Their united ages may be" fifteen, and I am willing to biiek they don't weigh fortyfive pounds between them. Cannibalism has taken phce, everything moyinjc has been eaten. Dogs, ' cats, rats, donkeys, snakes, lizards, old bones, leather, are eagerly devoured, and the stronger take by force from the weaker. \ have *een a big boy seize a small one- and try ta strangle him for the food ishafe was m his. mouth, and many other awful sights. A subscription has. been started which enables the EeHef Coommittee to feed about 3000 of the worst cases, and to. start a mat hospital for the sick This is at Suakin. At Tokar the starvaI tion is • worst;- betweeen 50 «nd 100 .sometimes over die daily. Kassala is still worse, whole families being found dead m their houses. At Gattabat and Gedariff the population nearly ceases to exist; at Barber, Schtendy, and Metemmeh the. same. At Halaib, Mahamed, Ghoul, a;nd Aghg the distress is also intense. I do-" hope someMiing will be done. Our Suakin/. committee consists of the GovernorGeneral, the Consul, the seakar naval officer, the senior army doctor an AngloEgyptian colonel, the Oro**- Vice-ConsuL and two native merohaatfti Thank God you at home don't know half the 7u f*!'' .■&* -Soworjih, M forwarding the le,%* w the '." Times," says :—" We have a terrible responsibility m the I matter. We invaded the country, we slaughtered its besfc and most vigorous men, and then we abandoned it to the vulture and. the jackal. In the. view of some of us our campaign m the Soudan, which mijdit have opened up the land of Cain to a more hopeful fufcyu-ei bujt which was a mere carnival of purposeless slaughter followed by a shameful retreat from. ojur. responsibilities, is one of the greatest crimes m our annals. We surely owe some reparation to the starving widows and the poor helpless orphans, who are dying m hundreds where their father's bones still lie unburied."

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http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18900819.2.13

Bibliographic details

Terrible State of Things in the Soudan.,
Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2495, 19 August 1890

Word Count

560

Terrible State of Things in the Soudan.
Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2495, 19 August 1890